Religion and World Views Curriculum Map 

Religion and World Views Skills and Knowledge Document

“Through their study of worldviews, pupils should develop a lifelong motivation to enquire into questions of meaning and purpose, and investigate others’ worldviews and what they mean for individuals, communities and society. All of this will enable them to become responsible citizens and members of diverse and changing local, national and global communities.” Commission on RE report 2017

Intent

 We strive – through our Religion and Worldviews curriculum, Collective Worship offering and enrichment activities – to broaden our pupils’ awareness and understanding of different faiths and belief systems. We are fortunate to be based in the city of Bristol with diverse and vibrant communities that we can learn from and about. The Junior school has been awarded the Gold WIRE (Widening Inclusivity in Religious Education) Award in 2022 and the Infant school was awarded a WIRE award in 2022.

 

Implementation/Learning Journey

In Reception, children’s learning experiences are centred around their class and year group communities. The Early Years curriculum is inspired by exploring events, stories, places and people. Pupils reflect on the beliefs and practices of people they know and start to explore what is important to them and their families. This is linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and pupils work towards Early Learning Goals within Personal, Social, Emotional Development and Understanding the World. In Key Stage 1 (Years 1&2), the curriculum focuses on the three Abrahamic religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. However, there are times when aspects of other religions and worldviews are explored e.g. the Hindu festival of Diwali. Throughout the year, parents, staff members and visitors from a range of religious and non-religious backgrounds are invited in to speak to the children in class or assemblies to share their own lived experiences and personal practices, for example how and why they fast during Ramadan. Our Religion and Worldviews lessons are creative and interactive, with a range of stimuli including stories, artefacts and persona dolls. We endeavour to teach children that individuals practise their religions and worldviews in different ways and strive not to teach a single story. During their time in the Infant school pupils have the opportunity to visit some local places of worship, for example the local Baptist church.

In Years 1 & 2, Religion and Worldviews is taught weekly by the HLTA (Higher Level Teaching Assistant). The curriculum is based on the ‘Jigsaw RE’ scheme but is adapted and personalised to suit our setting and communities. The lessons are taught as ‘stand-alone’ units of work and are based on a termly enquiry question such as, ‘does visiting the synagogue help Jewish children feel closer to God?’. Children build on knowledge from previous years to deepen and develop their understanding, frequently revisiting learning about the same religions and worldviews year on year.

The curriculum for Religion and Worldviews at Key Stage 2 is based on the Locally Agreed Syllabus for Bristol, Awareness, Mystery, Value http://www.awarenessmysteryvalue.org which is then personalised for our school. Some of the units of learning created have been used as part of national projects (RE-Live and Big Ideas).

Year 3 begin with the unit ‘What’s important to me?’ which widens the pupils’ awareness of a range of different religions and worldviews that people might follow as well as encouraging pupils to reflect on their own beliefs. Each year, pupils focus on a specific religion for one of their units. In Years 3 and 4, pupils study Hinduism and Sikhism for the first time; in Years 5 and 6, pupils revisit Islam and Judaism in more detail, building on their learning from Key Stage 1. Across Key Stage 2, pupils also study the non-religious worldviews of Humanism and Buddhism. Where meaningful links can be made, units are embedded within our wider topics (e.g. Splash! and Bristol – Our City). Other units are ‘stand-alone’ and look at two or more religions and worldviews in relation to an enquiry question e.g. What do people believe about life?

In Years 3 to 6, Religion and Worldviews is usually taught weekly by the class teacher. Key vocabulary is introduced at the start of each lesson and reinforced during the unit through quizzes and displays. Lesson plans, resources and activities are differentiated so that all pupils can access the curriculum.

Enrichment

In addition to our curriculum lessons, pupils’ learning is enriched with workshops in school and visits to places of worship as we make connections with the wider and more diverse community of Bristol as a whole. A range of speakers from the local community talk to the children in assemblies throughout the year.

Collective Worship and Assemblies

Across Elmlea, we follow weekly themes for our daily assemblies led by teachers and visitors from the local community. These promote our school values and British Values. We explore significant people and events from the past and present, including a diverse range of religious festivals. Through these sessions, pupils at Elmlea celebrate diversity and broaden their understanding and appreciation of the beliefs and lived experiences of others. Our visiting speakers often comment on the respect and excellent participation our pupils show during these sessions. In the Junior School, children also meet in cross-year group Houses for an assembly each term. We acknowledge and celebrate key religious celebrations throughout the year in our weekly Newsletters. Religion and Worldviews is provided for all pupils and is inclusive and broad-minded. Parents do have the right to withdraw pupils from Religion and Worldviews: if they wish to do this, they must make an appointment with the head teacher and curriculum leader to discuss alternative provision.